Being Babycakes
by SideshowJazz1
Summary: Sequel to Being In Hillwood: It's been three years since the Simpsons' brief stay in Hillwood. Now, several members of the gang are coming over to Springfield for the fall break. Things have definitely changed - Helga and Arnold are dating, Curly's taller than Rhonda, and how come Lila's not as perfect as before? It's sure to be a wild week for Stephanie, Lisa, Bart, and the gang!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So this idea's been spinning around since I finished the first story. The Hillwood gang is coming to Springfield! This is just an introductory chapter, but can't do without it. Read "Being In Hillwood" first if you haven't already. This story takes place three years after it, so Bart is fourteen, Lisa is nearly twelve, and Stephanie is seventeen.**

**Disclaimer: Everything except Stephanie belongs to either Craig Bartlett or Matt Groening.**

"Stephanie! Guess what!" My little sister Lisa tore down the stairs, where I was sitting, texting my best friend Tasha.

I shrugged. "What's up, little sis?"

"Remember our move three years ago?" Lisa asked.

I pretended to think. "Was that the move to Alaska, or the one to Hillwood?"

"Hillwood, duh!" Lisa replied. "Lila just emailed me. It's coming up to fall break and she and some of the others got permission from their parents to come here for a week. They're coming on Sunday!" It was Thursday night.

I remembered Hillwood, an urban city we'd stayed at when Dad was temporarily fired from the nuclear power plant. I was fourteen then (I'm seventeen now, and Lisa's nearly twelve). He got rehired a couple of months later and we came back home to Springfield, but we still kept in touch with our friends. Lisa became closest to sugar-sweet Lila Sawyer and nerdy Phoebe Heyerdahl.

"So...who's coming?" I asked.

Lisa thought for a moment. "Rhonda and Nadine, of course." she said. "Arnold and Gerald decided to join them...oh, and that meant Helga and Phoebe are coming, too."

I grinned. "Oh, I can't wait to see Helga and Arnold paired up!" Helga had been our neighbour, and I'd discovered that she had more than a major league crush on Arnold – she was more like obsessed. But about a year after we'd left, Helga had, as I'd requested, let me know when they finally started dating.

"Anyone else?" I said, giving Lisa a hard look.

Lisa shrugged. "Maybe."

"Lisa, you know who I'm asking about."

Lisa sighed. "Yes. Did you expect me to say no? Lila said that the minute Curly heard about it, he insisted on coming." She sounded a little bitter, but then she'd always had her doubts about Thaddeus "Curly" Gammelthorpe, who had been a good friend of mine, even though he was younger. Fine, so he had, at one point, harboured a totally creepy crush on me after a failed attempt to win Rhonda's heart, but luckily he soon realized that it wasn't going to work, and went back to chasing Rhonda. No luck so far, judging by his emails. He kept saying they were together, but Rhonda didn't know it yet, meaning she was still repulsed by him.

Bart, my younger brother (just turned fourteen), had been in the living room, watching TV, but I noticed him listening since Lisa mentioned Hillwood. "Where are they staying?" he asked now.

"Rhonda wanted to go to the Springfield Palace Hotel," Lisa said, "So she's going there. Everyone else got a couple of relatively normal rooms at the Aphrodite Inn, since it's the nicest."  
"Why doesn't Rhonda just go there instead?" I asked. "I'm sure she could find a suite for her expectations. Isn't there a themed room for stuck up fashion victims?" I'd never liked Rhonda, and she'd made her feelings about me clear when she said she pitied Lisa for having a sister like me. The fact that I started hanging out with Curly didn't help – she couldn't see why anyone would choose to spend time around him.

Lisa narrowed her eyes at me. "OK, OK, so you think Rhonda's a good friend." I snapped. "I get it, you don't have to glare at me every time I say something about her!"

"Has Phoebe got a boyfriend?" Bart asked, a slight wistful tone to his voice. He'd had a little crush on Phoebe at the time, and his last girlfriend had been cheating on him – well, I told him not to get back with Jessica Lovejoy, but he thought she'd changed. Yes, she had changed – for the worse. Bart had eventually found out that she'd been just about ready to give her virginity to Dolph (who was, I should add, sixteen), so he pretty much had to dump her.

"I don't think so." Lisa answered. "She never mentioned it in her emails. She does still talk about Gerald frequently, though, so I think she still has a crush on him."

I'd heard enough, and so I raced upstairs to my laptop, and sure enough, there was an email waiting for me – from Curly. It read:

_Hi, Steph!_

_Fall break is up, and so a few of us are paying you a visit! Expect us on the doorstep Sunday morning. Well, my angel might be a little late, since she's not staying in the same hotel as us (I'm about to give up any hope of knowing what kind of pyjamas she wears), but we'll all be there. I'll be staying with Arnold and Gerald in the Jazz Musician Suite (I was hoping for the jungle-themed one, but I was outvoted), then Lila and Nadine are in the Cute Mascots Suite, and Helga and Phoebe are in the Martial Arts room (Helga likes watching wrestling, and Phoebe likes fencing, so...)._

_Anyway, you want news, I guess...hmmm. Well, Helga and Arnold had another argument, but then Helga finds something to argue about nearly every week and five minutes after they walk away from each other, I only have to pass the makeout closet for a second to hear them making out. I think Helga can't break her habit of picking on Arnold a little bit, so she makes up for it by not being able to keep her hands off him for the rest of the day. If they argue while we're here, let them cool down in your house. You might be able to find them making out to make up._

_Anyway, have fun until Sunday. Love ya, babycakes._

I rolled my eyes at the last line. Although Curly usually reserved his pet names for Rhonda, he'd started calling me 'babycakes' soon after we'd left Hillwood, and reasoned that just because he no longer had a crush on me didn't mean that he no longer thought I fitted that name. He claimed that besides "beautiful princess", it was his favourite of the names that he called me, and he felt that the other was too romantically implicated. I told him to stop calling me that, but so far, no luck.

But still, I couldn't help but look forward to seeing the now seventh-graders. I wondered how they'd changed. But no matter what, it was sure to be a wild week!

**So there's my first chapter! I don't know how often I'll be updating, but I'll try to do it regularly. Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Now, for the arrival! Thank you SO much for reviewing, xFilms and Sideshow Cellophane 26!**

Lila texted Lisa on Saturday night to let us know when they'd be over the next day. Apparently, their flight would get them here around 10, and they were allowed to check into their hotels early, so they'd be able to get here around 11:30.

"Stephanie, could you please do me a favour?" Lisa asked. "Be nice to everyone."

"Am I usually not, sis?" I teased.

"Remind me how you got on Rhonda's bad side again." Lisa said, folding her arms. "Just be nice to her, this time. Please, Stephanie, I'm begging you, don't tease Helga, don't call Rhonda out on her wealth, don't-"

"How about I just shut myself up in my room for the whole week?" I said mockingly. "Oh no, of course, I can't do that, since it's our room. How about I forget the formalities and just greet them how I wish?" I laughed at Lisa's frown and said "Relax, little sis. I wouldn't do those things you were listing. And just for you, I'll try to be nicer to Rhonda. As long as she's nice to me, that is."

Lisa gave a little smile. "Well, since Lila's the only one with any influence, she said she'd tell Rhonda that you've changed and not to judge you from three years ago."

On Sunday morning, Lisa made a point of finding her coolest clothes. Her style had become less conservative over the last few years. Mostly, she wore T-shirts with moral slogans and denim skirts. Today, she decided on a light, short-sleeved white blouse and mock designer jeans.

"Rhonda will know those are fake." I pointed out.

Lisa shrugged, trying to seem relaxed. "I'm not dressing to appease anyone but myself." she lied transparently.

After all these years, I still favoured black, but I wore other colours too, although I kept my hair black. Today, I chose a dark purple long-sleeved top and black velvet jeans with my leather jacket. And, remembering the time Curly momentarily stole my diamante hairslides, I smiled and put them in for nostalgia's sake (I ditched my diamante headband, but wore the hairslides now and then).

Maggie, who was now five, only then started taking an interest. "Why are you dressed up?" she asked.

"Remember Hillwood, Mags?" I asked. "We moved there a couple years ago, when you were about two."

Maggie scrunched up her face, then nodded slowly. "I remember a weird boy that scared me."

I laughed. "I remember. That was Curly, one of my friends. Anyway, some of them are coming over today. Do you remember anything else?"

Maggie thought again. "Um...not really."

I shrugged. "Well, I guess we'll have to reintroduce you to those who came over, and give initial introductions to those who didn't. Hey, Lise!" I called. "Did Phoebe ever come over?"

"No." Lisa yelled back. "Why?"

"No reason." I answered, and turned back to Maggie. "So that's Arnold, Gerald, Helga, and Phoebe who never met you. Everyone else came over at one time or another. Oh wait...yeah, Rhonda never came over, either. Yeah, five out of eight people you never met."

Finally, the time came and the doorbell rang. I beat Lisa to the door and yanked it open. "Hi!"

There stood eight people I hadn't seen in three years. Each and every one had changed in some way, for better or for worse. Well, not for worse, but you know what I mean.

Arnold wore his usual friendly smile. He had probably changed the least out of everyone, with the same head shape, hairstyle and tiny blue hat nestled between the spikes. He still favoured long plaid shirts, but he wore it on the outside, so no one could mistake it for a kilt, the way I had when we were in Hillwood. He and Helga were (as I was pleased to see) holding hands.

Helga herself looked a bit unsure of herself, glancing down at her and Arnold's intertwined hands. Maybe she was still a bit worried about what people thought. She still had a unibrow, but she'd ditched the dress for a similar top and jeans, and she had a beanie cap (although I could see from the shape poking out that she still wore her bow underneath). She kept her pigtails, although they were a little lower, and although they still stuck out, they were pointing downward, too. But she still seemed much prettier, and you could see from her face that she was a much happier girl than the one I remembered.

Gerald still had the stack of black hair I remembered and a million-dollar grin, but his hair seemed shorter because he was so much taller. He towered over pretty much everyone, being at least a head taller than Phoebe even without the hair.

Phoebe was wearing smaller rectangular glasses, and instead of the blue sweater and short pleated skirt, she had a dark blue long-sleeved top and a knee-length sky blue skirt. She looked like a minature high school

teacher.

Nadine looked so much more grown-up. Her blonde hair was out of its braids and in slightly frizzy waves. Her style had also been updated, with jeans and a T-shirt, but the dragonfly design on her shirt proved that she was still the Nadine I remembered.

Lila looked much more mature than I remembered. Her smile was toned down a little, and her hair was now in one braid instead of two. Instead of the cute green dress, she was wearing a green tank top that showed off how slim she was, and slightly baggy jeans.

Rhonda hadn't changed too much, really. Her hair was much longer, and she was wearing a necklace, bracelet, and more makeup, and a black skirt instead of her black jeans, but apart from that, it was the same girl I remembered. She was smiling, but it had that touch of superiority I knew.

But Curly had definitely changed the most. For one thing, he'd shot up over the years. Now, he was just a little bit taller than Rhonda. His style had changed, too. His hair was slightly longer, instead of in the bowl cut, and he was wearing a white T-shirt, a leather jacket (like mine, but plainer), and grey jeans. And instead of his round thick glasses, he had square frames and his intense eyes were actually visible. The grin he gave me was more subdued than the one I remembered, but there was a certain look to his face that told me the old Curly was still there.

"It's wonderful to see you all again!" Lisa exclaimed, joining me at the door.

"It's ever so wonderful to see you too!" Lila said, giving Lisa a hug. Maybe she was more like the old Lila than I thought, if she still talked like that.

Curly gave me a hug, as Lisa greeted everyone else. "Hey, babycakes."  
"Don't call me that!" I snapped, but then I returned the hug with a smile. I had genuinely missed my crazy friend. "You look so...different, now. When did that happen?"

Curly chuckled, his old manic laugh still there. "Just happened. You got taller, Steph, but apart from that, you're just as pretty as I remember."

I gave him a light shove. "Just don't go crushing on me again, OK, kid?"

Curly smiled innocently. "Of course not. How could I, when the angel lighting up my life is over there?" He glanced in Rhonda's direction.

Yep, this week would be one crazy break.

**I can't wait to get going with this week! Please review!**

**Warning: I have some problems with the next chapter, so I don't know when it'll be up. Sorry for the delay, just a heads up.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Right. Let's keep this story going! Oh, and about Sideshow Bob – a course I took had a lecture about psychological and mental disorders, and Bob fits the symptoms of Antisocial Personality Disorder.**

Bart, of course, joined us and then so did Mom and Dad, although they didn't know everyone. They'd met those who'd come to our house, and since Helga had lived next-door, they knew her vaguely by sight (even if she looked a little different), but that was it. Mom seemed pleased to see everyone, and Dad managed to be less embarrassing than usual.

I managed to be nicer to Rhonda than I had. After I'd said hi to just about everyone else, it was her turn. I tried for a smile and said awkwardly "Hey, Rhonda. I like what you did to your hair."

Rhonda's ice princess facade melted slightly, and she said "Oh, thanks, Stephanie. I started growing it in sixth grade. You know, I have to move with the trends. I see you moved on, too." She gestured to my top and my more conventional (not so gothic) makeup. "Not bad."

I didn't particularly want to be patronized about my fashion sense by a twelve-year-old, so I moved back to the others pretty quickly.

Eventually, people started drifting apart. We hung out at home, for a bit. Lisa took all of the girls up to our room, except Helga, who wasn't interested. Bart started engaging Arnold and Gerald in some conversation about girls, which left Helga and Curly to me. However, Helga insisted that she'd stay and listen to the boys talk (clingy much – it was obvious she just wanted to be around Arnold) and so it was just us.

"Maggie!" I called as I headed up the stairs.

Maggie's door opened and she looked out. "Yeah, Steph?"

"Can we crash in your room? Lisa's in mine with most of the other girls. Speaking of, only Lila and Nadine have met you – go introduce yourself to Rhonda and Phoebe. Or go downstairs – Arnold, Gerald and Helga are down there. You haven't met any of them."

Maggie sighed, and then noticed Curly beside me. "Who's that?" she asked.

I laughed. "Maggie, it's Curly. You don't recognize him?"

Maggie's eyes widened. "You're that scary boy! I remember you!" she looked at him again. "You don't look so scary now." she said bluntly.

Curly gave one of his manic laughs. "Oh, I can be scary when I want to be." he teased her. "But don't worry, I don't prey on little girls."

Maggie folded her arms and scowled. "I'm not that little!"

"Well, I only go for those my age and older. Right, Steph?"

I grinned back at him. "Right, nutcase."

"Nutcase?" said Maggie. "Aren't those on trees?"

I giggled, explaining "Lisa thinks 'nutcase' isn't a good synonym for crazy person, so I don't use it around her. It means I don't say it, so Mags doesn't know the meaning of the word." I sighed. "Maggie, can we hang out in your room? Go bug Lisa or something – most of the other girls are in our room."

Maggie sighed dramatically and ran across the landing to our room, so Curly and I took her room.

"So." I said. "Thought about anything you wanna do this week?"

Curly shrugged. "Not really. You know the town, right?"

I smiled. "Sounds like the tour's going to be about the people in the town, not the places. Lisa's into the library, the museum and other places like that. Bart pretty much likes anywhere where he can take his current girlfriend and look good. As for me, I just wander around, trying to find some guys. Believe it or not, the person I find most interesting in the whole town happens to be in prison – I forget why, since it's happened several times for like four years – even Lisa became friendly with him for a short time, although to be fair, she just wanted someone intelligent to talk to."

"Oh, that doesn't sound weird to me." Curly grinned. "Have you forgotten who you're talking to? Besides, like you said the first day we met, you like crazy people."

I was talking about Sideshow Bob, Springfield's own personal supervillain, but I wasn't going to be seen at the prison. We definitely weren't going there, even though I did find him very interesting.

"Huh." I said thoughtfully. "Maybe you two would get along. Well, he hasn't been disagnosed or anything, but I think he suffers from Antisocial Personality Disorder. But even so, I think you two could swap schemes...

although, to be fair, he's more into murder than anything else."

Curly shrugged again. "Anyone else in the town that's interesting?"

"Well..." I said. "I guess my friends are in town. Laura lives really nearby, and I told Tasha and Azure to come by, anyway. Azure thought you were really interesting."

The doorbell rang just then. "Perfect timing!" I exclaimed.

"Steph, could you get that?" Lisa yelled from our room. "I asked Allison over to meet the others."

I groaned, wondering who it was. Allison Taylor was Lisa's friend and rival. They'd made friends in second grade and drifted apart a little bit as time went by, but now they were closer than they'd ever been...possibly because there were a few things Lisa had learned to do that Allison couldn't – up until then Allison had all of Lisa's talents and was better than her at all of them, as well as having been skipped in first grade. I didn't like Allison, so I hoped it was my friends.

It was Tasha and Azure, but Allison was just walking up the path. "Great!" I exclaimed. "You guys made it! Come on in, the others are here."

Azure spotted Curly hovering immediately, and grinned. She'd mellowed out a little from last time they'd met, but she was still a little crazy. "Hi!" she greeted him. "Don't tell me the crazy part of you wore off...I can't see it!"

Curly gave her a manic grin. "Nope! I'm still the same guy."

Allison had reached the doorstep by then. "Hi, Stephanie." she said sweetly. That was one reason I didn't like her. She was always very nice, although she wasn't as sugary as Lila. That's one reason why she drove me nuts.

"Hey, Allison." I said, forcing a smile. "Lisa invited you over to meet our Hillwood friends, right? Stop in the kitchen – Bart's talking to Arnold and Gerald there. Helga's hovering around there, so say hi to her, as well. Then go on up to my and Lisa's room...Rhonda, Nadine, Lila and Phoebe are all up there. Oh, and this is Curly. He's my closest friend here."

"Oh." Allison said. "Hi, Curly." Curly waved at her and grinned.

"So, Steph," Tasha said, "You planning to take anyone out?"

"Not yet." I said. "But we will."

"I've got an idea!" Azure said. "Why don't you set up a reservation somewhere for tonight? Give them a real taste of Springfield." Then she clapped her hand to her mouth. "Oh no...please don't tell me I just made a lame pun."

"You made a lame pun." I chorused with Tasha.

"But sounds like a great idea!" I said. "Where should we go?"

"Professor V.J's Cornucopia etc, etc." Azure said.

"No way, the Happy Sumo." Tasha said. "From what I saw, Phoebe especially would love it."

"Dad nearly got killed from eating Fugu there." I reminded her. "What about the Pimento Grove?"

"Bor-ing." my friends chanted together.

At that moment, Lisa and her friends came back down.

"Hey Lise, we've got an idea." I said. "We should make a dinner reservation for everyone tonight.

Lisa grinned. "Great idea." she said. "All we need to do is figure out where to go."

**They'll work it out in the next chapter. Sorry this one took so long. Thanks for reading, and please review. Why didn't I get any in the last chapter?**


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